Earlier this year, the COVID-19 pandemic took the world by storm and shut it down within a matter of days. The tourism and hospitality industry was hit the hardest by the health safety regulations that followed the viral disease. Now, as the world has reopened and is adapting to the new normal, the way we experience travel has also changed.
If your travel feet have started itching, then we have the perfect safety checklist for you to ensure that you can travel at minimum risk. Whether you’re traveling inter-city, inter-state, or just preparing to continue your regular transportation within the city, this checklist will help you in all the scenarios.
We recommend hiring a limousine service in Chicago Illinois if your plans are bringing you to the city or you live here. You can also book a limo service to O’ Hare airport, in case you’re traveling out of town.
Before you start packing or making plans, we would like to remind you that it will be a different experience this time. You need to take the health and safety guidelines seriously to ensure that you and the people around you are safe from the viral transmission.
Take a look below for our COVID-19 safety checklist for road travel!
Safety Checklist for Travel Preparation
In this section, we’ll lay out all the precautionary and safety measures that you need to take before heading out for your road travel. Keep reading!
1. Sanitize your car thoroughly
Before you head out, make sure you sanitize your car properly to remove all the germs. Use alcohol-based sanitizers and disinfectants to wipe your car. Make sure you’re wearing protective gloves, so you don’t come in direct contact with the surfaces. Use the disinfectant to sanitize your steering wheel, dashboard, seatbelts, gear shifts, windows, and door handles.
Make sure you wipe in one direction, such as left to right. Never wipe the surfaces in the reverse direction. Cover as many surfaces as possible. It’s essential to disinfect frequently touched surfaces before and while using your car. It would also be a great idea to get your car fully serviced.
2. Pack Sanitization Essentials
Before traveling on the road, you need to stock up on sanitization essentials. Make sure your luggage or car has an ample number of alcohol-based sanitizers, disinfecting wipes, tissues, and gloves. You need to stay prepared for everything. You never know when you’ll need a tire change or require someone’s help. Gloves and sanitizers will come in really handy in such situations.
Make sure you also carry your reusable water bottles, so you can refill at safe stations. You need to ensure that you have sanitizers on you at all times. So, you can disinfect your hands after coming in contact with a new place or surface.
3. Pack Efficiently
It’s very important to pack efficiently and smartly for your road travels during these unprecedented times. Make sure you keep extra clothing and cleaning essentials. Keep empty bottles and extra shoes if you’re traveling in your own car.
4. Masks! Do NOT forget the masks
Masks are probably the most important thing to pack along with sanitizers. COVID-19 is known to spread through droplets in the air. Since traveling puts you at a higher risk of close contact with others, wearing a mask at all times becomes imperative.
No! You can’t just put on a single mask and leave. You need to ensure that you have a packet or two of extra masks to keep you safe through your travels. Reusing the same mask over and over again is not recommended, especially if it is not washable. That’s why keeping masks is very important because you don’t run out of them.
5. Gather necessary information
Before you venture out, make sure you read the official health guidelines that are being implemented in the area where you’re going. It’s essential that you look up all the nearest hospitals on the routes that you’ll be using for travel. If you’re traveling to another state, check out the local government’s website for specific health and safety requirements in that state.
Health safety tips for using taxis and buses
If you have to use public transport like buses, subways, or taxis, you’ll have to take extra precautionary measures. Check out the health safety tips below:
- Sanitize your hands before entering and after leaving the public vehicle
- If you have gloves, wear them
- Avoid coming in contact with common touchpoints and surfaces inside the vehicle
- Try to maintain a distance of 6 feet
- Pay online, so you don’t have to exchange currency or your card
- Follow the protocols laid out by the officials in public transport
- If you’re not feeling well, do not use public transportation and stay indoors
General health safety tips for road travels
Being on-the-go puts you at a higher risk of COVID-19 infection compared to staying at home. Therefore, you have a greater responsibility to follow health safety guidelines. Check out general health safety tips below:
- Wash your hands frequently and properly
- Avoid touching your face, mouth, nose, etc. If you do need to touch your face, make sure you sanitize your hands before and after
- If you need to sneeze or cough, make sure you cover your mouth with a tissue. If you don’t have a tissue on you, then sneeze under your elbows.
- Make sure you disinfect your phone and other frequently-used objects regularly
- Dispose of tissues and wipes responsibly
- Pack your food and water from home, so you don’t need to make too many stops at public stores
Final Words
We are living unprecedented times, and that requires each of us to do our part and follow health and safety guidelines. If you follow our checklist and tips during your road travels, it will keep you and the people around you much safer.